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Line between teammates, rivals blurred at FCA Greathouse Classic

In its 17 years of existence, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Myrle Greathouse All-Star Classic football game has been a rousing success.

Now the headliner of the six-sport Big Country FCA All-Star Festival, the Classic has given local and area football players one last chance to represent their schools in a fun and unique atmosphere and fans a chance to quench their gridiron thirsts during the long offseason.

But the past two years, there's been a change to the game's format that's added a new twist — a fantasy-style draft done months in advance that takes geography out of the equation and, on occasion, turns teammates into rivals and vice versa.

That will be the case for a number of players this year, including several from Abilene High and Cooper, which combined will have 15 players in action when the game kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday at Shotwell Stadium.

NIne of those will be on the Blue roster, which features Abilene High's Isaac Buenrrostro, Peyton Killam, Dackota Triano and Jayton Voss and Cooper's Jwan Hong, Kendrick James, Daytan Mora, Terreon Paige and Jamie Pogue. They'll line up against Abilene High's Daniel Beal, Bryce McGough, Blake Proctor and Sammy Renteria and Cooper's Devon Cunningham and Zachary Goodson for the Red team.

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Cooper's Devon Cunningham(Photo: Tommy Metthe/Abilene Reporter-News)

Cunningham, primarily a running back, said the new format makes for a fun dynamic.

"It will be (fun)," he said. "I get to line up against some of my close friends. I'll probably be playing both ways, so I'll get to really go against my teammates for sure and I get to team up with Abilene High people and stuff. It will be a great experience.

"You get to play with people you'll probably never play with after this."

Killam, a multi-year starter at quarterback for Abilene High who will be playing alongside Cunningham at Hardin-Simmons next year, had similar thoughts.

"It's a new experience, but I'm looking forward to it," he said. "I have a bunch of Cooper friends, a bunch of Abilene High friends, a bunch of Wylie friends, so I'm excited to be playing with them — alongside them and against them. It's something new and I'm looking forward to it."

As with most all-star games, there will be a mix of familiar and unfamiliar faces for each participant. That provides the players with an opportunity to make new friends and makes for some good banter between those who already know each other.

Cunningham said Wednesday the friendly trash talk hadn't started yet, but he fully expected it to.

"I'm pretty sure the closer we get to Saturday and the more time we spend with each other, it will start getting amped up," he said. "We kind of know our competitive spirit between each other, and both teams are going to want to win, so you'll see a little competitive edge come out the closer we get to Saturday, for sure."

With FCA's mission, however, there's more to the days leading up to the Classic than preparation the game itself.

Abilene High quarterback Peyton Killam(Photo: Tommy Metthe)

Killam said the opportunities provided in the days leading up to the game only add to the honor for those chosen to participate.

"I'm very excited to be able to play and be around some new people and make new friendships," he said. "It's really about growing closer to God and making new friendships — just build as a community and go from there."

And there's no better way to build relationships and community, Cunningham said, than working together for a common goal.

"There's people here I've never seen before and now I get to meet them in this really cool atmosphere," he said. "It's building relationships really. Hopefully after Saturday, this will be a great experience for all of us to look at and say it was a good one.

"We've got a bunch of Abilene people in it and a bunch of other small-town schools in it that all come together and compete in the game we love for a cause we love, too."

Last year, in the first game of the draft era, the Red squad shut out the Blue 33-0.

Neither side's expecting a blowout this year.

"There's always going to be competition," Killam said. "It's still a game. We're just going to have fun with it and see what happens."

Added Cunningham: "For me, it's a big deal. I want to go out and perform and end my high school career on a good note."